The Hacker News — Cyber Security, Hacking, Technology News

Since most of us rely upon the Internet for day-to-day activities, hacking and spying have become a prime concern today, and so have online security and privacy.

The governments across the world have been found to be conducting mass surveillance and then there are hackers and cybercriminals who are always looking for ways to steal your sensitive and personal data from the ill-equipped networks, websites, and PCs.

Even most online services and websites today collect your personal data, including search histories, location data, and buying habits, and makes millions by sharing them with advertisers and marketers.

In short, we have no or very little online privacy.

This is why schools, colleges, hospitals and other small and big businesses are moving towards adopting a solution that allows them to store and access their personal data securely. The solution: Virtual Private Network.

The VPNSecure Lifetime Subscription is available for just $39 at THN Deals Store— isn't this excellent deal, a one-time flat fee for a lifetime VPN subscription.

3. Windscribe VPN: Lifetime Pro Subscription (92%OFF)

Windscribe VPN is a combination of VPN and Browser-Based Privacy Suite, which not only encrypts your Internet activity and protect you from prying eyes but also keep you protected from being tracked by online sites you visit.

Windscribe VPN is the easiest to use and powerful VPN client you will ever use. No need to configure anything, just install and forget about it.

The VPN also includes a Firewall that disables all Internet connectivity, preventing IP leak in case of a disconnect.

Data Privacy is a serious concern today with the vast availability of personal data over the Internet – a digital universe where websites collect your personal information and sell them to advertisers for dollars, and where hackers can easily steal your data from the ill-equipped.

If this wasn't enough, US Senate voted last week to eliminate privacy rules that would have forced ISPs to get your permission before selling your Web browsing history and app usage history to advertisers.

If passed, ISPs like Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T, can collect and sell data on what you buy, where you browse, and what you search, to advertisers all without taking your consent in order to earn more bucks.

How to Prevent ISPs And Hackers From Spying On You

So, how do you keep your data away from advertisers as well as hackers?

Private Browsing!

If you're worried about identity thieves or ISPs spying on or throttling your traffic, the most efficient way to secure your privacy on the Internet is to avoid mucking around in public networks; use a VPN instead.

But what is a VPN and how does the service enhance privacy and security?

VPN – stands for Virtual Private Network – is a secure tunnel between your computer and destinations you visit on the internet. Your computer connects to a VPN server, which can be located anywhere in the world, and your web traffic then passes back-&-forth through that server.

The Result: You are browsing from that server's geo-location, not your computer's location. So your identity remains anonymous.

To ensure the privacy of your data, VPN encrypts your data. Some VPNs use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) for encryption, while others might use IPSec or PPTP to keep your information encrypted from prying eyes.

Isn't it the great reason to use a VPN? Of course, Yes.

Since there are so many services to choose from, THN Deals Store brings you some excellent and secure VPN services at highly discounted prices with lifetime subscription, so it cannot get heavy in your pockets.

If you're searching for an affordable and reliable VPN service without any bandwidth limits, VPNSecure is a good pick.

This premium service is compatible with all operating systems — from Windows and Mac OS X to iOS and Linux — easy to use, offers lightning-fast connection and provides ultimate safeguards against ISPs and hackers.

With strict no-log record policy, VPNSecure has many servers located in over 41 countries and counting.

The VPNSecure Lifetime Subscription is available for $39 at THN Deals Store, which usually costs $450 — isn't this an excellent deal, a one-time flat fee for a lifetime VPN subscription.

This sale is set to expire in the next few days, though, so get your order in now.

If you are looking for an ad-free, completely secure Internet experience, you can not get better than OneVPN.

OneVPN works double duty — cleaning up your browsing while also making sure you remain anonymous from hackers, ISPs and government who may be monitoring your web activity.

Unlike other VPN services, OneVPN lets you maintain a high speed while surfing the web with 60 servers based in 21 countries across the globe, so no matter where you travel to, you will be covered.

The OneVPN: Lifetime Subscription is available for just $49.99 and 2-Year Subscription for just $19.99 at THN Deals Store, which usually costs $477 and $238 respectively — which is a pretty amazing price.

Today, most of you surf the web unaware of the fact that websites collect your data and track your locations and makes millions by sharing your search histories, location data, and buying habits with advertisers and marketers.

And if this isn't enough, there are hackers and cyber criminals out there who have the ability to easily steal your sensitive and personal data from the ill-equipped websites.

In short, the bitter truth is that you have no or very little online privacy.

To resolve this issue, you need a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

If you are worried about online Privacy and have not thought about using a VPN, it might be time to get one.

But, the question is: What are the best anonymous VPN services?

Unfortunately, not all VPNs are as anonymous as they claim to be. Some VPN services keep extensive logs of their users' browsing activities, including IP-addresses for weeks, which nullify the point of using a VPN for privacy.

Want Privacy While You Surf the Web? Try Privatoria VPN

As I previously recommended, Privatoria is one such VPNs that not only offers web surfing protection and web traffic encryption but also keeps zero-log of your online activities.

Privatoria, the Czech Republic-based company, offers far more than a VPN solution. Its features are identical to those of a life-jacket, bullet-proof vest or space suit for surfers, police officers or cosmonauts.

Besides its No Log Policy, Privatoria VPN provides a number of great features that makes it one of the best VPN services available in the market.

The company provides advanced services such as VPN, VPN Tor, Proxy, Proxy Tor, and Anonymous Emails. So, let's have a closer look at each of these features, their advantages, peculiarities, and spheres of usage:

You can get secure IP address to surf the Web anonymously without leaving digital footprints. You can even unblock geo-restricted content and enjoy it from anywhere with high speed without any barrier, circumventing online restrictions imposed by some countries.

2. Double encrypt (TOR+VPN) Traffic — For doubled security, you can use Proxy Tor that employs 2 channels simultaneously. You can change and hide your IP address from hackers and nosy parkers, without the need to download any complicated additional software.

Tor-integrated VPN technology offers you double protection. So, you can also use VPN plus Tor to get an extra layer of protection and doubled privacy for your sensitive information.

3. No Log Policy — Privatoria's "No data mining" motto can be observed in every service and activity. Privatoria VPN guarantees no traffic logs, no government backdoors, and no storage of users’ data for third parties.

5. Worldwide Server & Network Speed — Privatoria VPN enables connection to 63 Tor servers and 19 VPN/Proxy servers in the USA, UK, Canada, France, Spain, Germany, Australia, Egypt, Singapore and other countries. It is also expanding the network of servers in all corners of the world.

In terms of speed, Privatoria offers consistent performance with most servers providing a satisfying rate. Although the speed significantly depends on the geographical position, the closer your country to the server - the faster speed you get.

7. Secure Payment method — Moreover, it requires no personal data for registration. Advanced web surfers know about the way to enhance security and create anonymity, as Bitcoin crypto-currency is also accepted as one of payment methods with Privatoria.

8. Technical Live Support — Besides email-based ticketing system, Privatoria also provides live chat support, which is available during working hours of Central European Time (CET).

Having contacted Live Chat for technical assistance on few queries, I received an instant reply within few seconds. Unlike many VPN services, you don’t need to wait for so long for any technical assistant.

9. Money Back Guarantee — Money back guarantee is always a nice thing to have and Privatoria VPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee, where you can request a refund if the service does not suit your requirements. Isn't this great?

How to Get Privatoria VPN?

So, if you haven't made up your mind yet and want to test a new service, Privatoria offers regular discounts and a free trial of up to 7 days.

Privatoria is a highly cost-effective service and offers three different packages: a 3-month package for $4.33/month; 6-month for $3.83/month and 12-month for $2.74/month.

The payment methods available to users are PayPal, Bitcoin (to enhance your online anonymity even more), as well as debit and credit cards.

Due to its unique Internet security service that aims to provide an all-in-one security solution, users can feel totally protected online.

With Privatoria's impressive features, it is nearly impossible for hackers, prying eyes, and even your ISPs to steal your data by snooping on your network or track the origin of your Internet connection back to you, guaranteeing complete privacy on the Internet.

Today, most users surf the web unaware of the fact that websites collect their data and track their locations – and if this is not enough, then there are hackers and cyber criminals who can easily steal sensitive data from the ill-equipped.

In short, the simple truth is that you have no or very little privacy when you're online.

So, if you're worried about identity thieves, or ISPs spying on or throttling your traffic, the most efficient way to secure your privacy on the Internet is to avoid using public networks; use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) instead.

When it comes to digital security, the first thing most users probably think of is a good Antivirus for protecting their sensitive data on their systems. But, what they forget is that the data they send over the Internet needs protection, too.

That's where Virtual Private Network (VPN) services come in.

VPN allows you to access a private network securely and to share data remotely through public networks, protecting your data online – much like a firewall protects your data on your computer.

The most important thing about a VPN is that it secures your internet connection to guarantee that all of the data you are sending as well as receiving is encrypted and secured from ISPs, hackers, and prying eyes.

It's because VPN works by overlaying a private network on top of a public network, effectively encrypting all the data that passes through the networks.

Since VPNs use a combination of dedicated connections and encryption protocols to generate virtual Peer-to-Peer (P2P) connections, even if snoopers did manage to steal some of the transmitted data, they would be unable to access it.

What's more, VPN makes sure that your real identity remains anonymous on the Internet so that no one can track the origin of your Internet connection back to you.

So, if you are worried about online safety and have not thought about getting a VPN, it might be time to use one. But, the real question here is:

Which VPN Service is the best that would take care of my security and anonymity seriously?

Many companies are providing VPN services, but not all are same. Some VPN services log all your browsing activities that nullify the point of using a VPN for privacy.

The best VPNs are the ones that do not keep logs or records of your browsing history and protect your anonymity, while offering a solid balance of features, server location, connectivity protocols, and price.

I came across some reputed VPN services, but they resolved few issues, and some addressed several issues but cost too expensive.

But, then I found NordVPN, the Panama-based company that has been providing advanced VPN services since 2012.

While reviewing, I found that NordVPN offers some good features, when it comes to privacy and security, though it might not be the fastest VPN service.

First and foremost, NordVPN is for those privacy-conscious users who prefer strong online anonymity at a very affordable price.

1. No Logging

The company has a "strict no-logs policy when it comes to seeing user activity online."

On logging, NordVPN clearly explained that it makes its user's traffic "invisible to governments, ISPs, third party snoopers and even NordVPN.com" itself.

2. Headquartered Outside the US and EU

NordVPN is headquartered in the Central American country of Panama, but why does this matter?

NordVPN servers are operated under the jurisdiction of Panama – a country that doesn't require Internet service providers to monitor user traffic, so the company is "empowered to deny any third-party requests."

3. Double VPN System

A unique feature that NordVPN offers is its two-stage data encryption through its DoubleVPN service.

When using this service, user's data is passed through two separate VPN servers, which encrypt the data with AES-256-CBC cipher twice over using different keys as it leaves each server.

Re-encrypting the data twice will indeed make NordVPN more secure, which would make tracking an internet user more difficult.

4. Dedicated Tor-over-VPN Servers (for Maximum Anonymity)

Tor has become increasingly popular after Edward Snowden revelations about NSA's global surveillance programs.Tor is a great anonymity tool, but it also has certain downsides, like being a constant surveillance program target.

For those looking to get another layer of security protection, NordVPN is providing Tor-over- VPN server that encrypts your traffic before entering Tor network, making it even harder to trace back to the source.

Although Tor over VPN is only User → VPN → Tor → Internet, so your actual IP address is not masked from NordVPN. Much more useful would be a User → Tor → VPN → Internet kind of service that allows users to hide their true IP address from even the VPN provider.

Also, Tor is notoriously slow, which makes Tor-Over-VPN NordVPN servers slow in performance, but it would be unfair to judge something on factors beyond its control.

You can try the DoubleVPN with Tor-over-VPN for double-encrypted, multi-hop, maximum protection of your data. Isn't that cool?

5. Strong Encryption (2048-bit SSL for OpenVPN)

To protect your traffic from eavesdropping, NordVPN supports many different VPN security protocols, including OpenVPN, SSTP, PPTP, L2TP/IPsec and IKEv2/IPsec.

NordVPN for Windows, Linux or Mac OS allow users to manually choose between these encryption methods, while NordVPN custom apps for Windows, iOS, Mac OS and Android, have OpenVPN or IKEv2/IPsec protocols set by default, both open source, offering robust 2048 bit / 3072 bit encryption.

6. Automatic Kill-Switch

Besides its VPN services, NordVPN also offers a Kill Switch feature, which is a must-have for anyone who is genuinely concerned about security.

When configured, this feature constantly monitors the traffic between your selected applications or processes and the VPN servers.

If your VPN connection is interrupted or the data is broken at any point or for any reason, Kill Switch will automatically activate and immediately cut those apps or processes.

This is great, as it ensures that no unsecured data sneaks out.

7. Performance and Support (Hundreds Of Servers WorldWide)

Currently, the company has NordVPN apps for MAC OS, iOS, Windows, and Android.

NordVPN also supports Linux, but not Windows phone.

Users can even run NordVPN on game consoles and some network devices like routers.

In terms of speed, NordVPN provides consistent performance with several numbers of servers providing a satisfying rate.

NordVPN offer servers that are customized for specific types of online access, such as high-speed servers for video streaming, Anti-DDoS servers for protection from denial of service attacks, and extra-secure servers for enhanced anonymity online.

Conclusion: NordVPN offers a solid suite of security and privacy features, with a wide choice of locations, clear logging policy, and good performance, in an easy-to-use package at a very reasonable price.

It's a smart choice and certainly should be on your shortlist. NordVPN provides different packages, from which you can choose one according to your requirement.

VPNs have now become a great tool not just for large companies, but also for individuals to improve their privacy and security online, dodge content restrictions and counter growing threat of cyber attacks.

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